EXPLAINER: The 2023 FIFA Football Agent Regulations
For decades the football agent’s industry has been dominated by massive changes in regulation from the sport’s governing body FIFA. Due to the amount of influence agents have on football, and the astronomical levels of money involved in transfers globally, FIFA have placed importance on trying to find ways to control and regulate this incredibly lucrative business over the years.
The approaches to successfully implementing these regulations have changed depending on the mood of the governing body through the decades, culminating in the new 2023 FIFA Football Agent Regulations.
The full details of these fresh amendments have now been released, affecting every single agent who has entered the field since 2015, and all potential new agents who are ready to embark on their dream careers in the beautiful game.
In this explainer blog we will explore what these changes mean for you, and how the John Viola Academy are fully primed to use their 50+ years of experience in the football agent’s industry to help you navigate them…
What’s the story so far?
When our resident expert and elite agent John Viola first entered the industry in 1994, it was required to pay a £100,000 bond to FIFA with it being returned after years of verified good practice. By the time his partner and fellow JVA resident expert elite agent Phil McTaggart joined the business in the early 2000s, the bond had been deemed too severe and replaced with a difficult entry exam.
In 2015 FIFA totally deregulated the football agent space. This opened the industry upon to everyone and anyone with the desire to work in the sport and created a huge knowledge gap, inspiring the creation of the JVA Football Agent Pro Course, which teaches new agents the practical side of a successful career as a football agent based on John & Phil’s vast experience in the field.
The successes of the Pro Course have since established the JVA as market leaders in the education of football agents worldwide.
~ John Viola and Phil McTaggart are leading figures in football agent education ~
How are the regulations changing?
The 2015 amendments had many positive effects on our industry, opening the doors of this famously exclusive field to the masses of football lovers worldwide. However, over the years FIFA has faced backlash because of their decision, with calls to take efforts to further professionalise football agents worldwide; resulting in the most recent amendments.
The 2023 FIFA Football Agent Regulations (FFAR) address many points about the industry; however, we will be focussing in on 3 main areas that will affect you the most, let’s take a quick look at them below.
1. The Exam and Licensing
As previously mentioned, from 2015 until now there has been no universal FIFA regulations regarding becoming a licensed agent. The responsibility has been down to local FA’s, with the majority only looking for a small fee and a signed declaration.
This has now changed, if you became an agent after 2015, or you are totally new to the field, you now need an official license from FIFA.
To get this license, in a return to the circumstances that Phil faced when he entered the industry, an entry exam has been reintroduced.
After applying and passing some simple eligibility criteria, applicants will be invited to sit the exam. This exam will be held twice per year, and it will take place in person at premises belonging to a football association of the applicant’s choosing.
The exam will be 60 minutes long and will feature 20 multiple choice questions regarding FIFA’s regulations on football agents and other relevant football legislation, with the pass mark being 75%.
Once an applicant passes the exam, that’s it they are officially a FIFA licensed agent and ready to do business! From there all they must do is pay an annual license fee and fulfil some ongoing educational obligations which we will get onto further down the list.
~ Applicants will bring their own laptop to test centres to complete the exam ~
2. Service Fee Caps and Protocols for Payment
There will now be a cap placed on the amount of commission that an agent can earn from clubs and players, and it has been laid out as follows.
For a player earning less than $200,000 (or equivalent) per year here are your caps;
- Representing player only – you can receive 5% of the player’s remuneration.
- Representing the engaging club – you can receive 5% of the player’s remuneration.
- Representing both player and engaging club (dual representation) – you can receive 10% of the player’s remuneration.
For a player earning more than $200,000 (or equivalent) per year the caps are slightly decreased;
- Representing player only – you can receive 3% of the player’s remuneration.
- Representing the engaging club – you can receive 3% of the player’s remuneration.
- Representing both player and engaging club (dual representation) – you can receive 6% of the remuneration.
Irrespective of the player’s remuneration, if you are representing a club in the sale of a player – you can receive 10% of the transfer compensation.
Any service fees earned will be paid into the FIFA clearing house before it is then distributed to the acting agent, the governing body say this is an effort to increase transparency.
3. A New Digital Hub for Agents
A brand-new digital space named the FIFA Agent Platform has been launched to act as a hub for all administration activities related to FIFA’s management of football agents, below are three of the main functions it will serve;
Licensing – this is where agents will apply for and manage their official FIFA license.
Continuing Professional Development – to maintain their license, agent’s will have to complete a set amount of FIFA educational courses about the industry which will be accessed on the platform.
Dispute Resolution – this part of the platform services a brand new agent’s dispute chamber in which conflict resolution within the industry will be handled with and acted upon.
~ Applications for the first FIFA Agents exam on April 19th 2023 are now taking place ~
What’s the timeline?
Agents can begin the new licensing process right away; however, in general, it will not be mandatory to follow the new amendments to all regulations until the end of the transition period on 01 October 2023. There are also a group of the highest profile agents operating in the transfer market attempting to appeal against the changes, so there is a possibility that they may alter further as time goes on.
I want to get licensed with FIFA, what are my options?
As mentioned, every single agent who entered the industry from 2015 onwards, and all new agents entering the field, must pass the reinstated entry exam in order to gain their license and be able to operate in the transfer market as a football agent.
Accordingly, the ability to comfortably pass this exam is now going to be of critical importance to a vast number of people associated with the football agency space or looking to break into the field.
The John Viola Academy have fully recognised this importance and have decided to build on their industry leading practical courses for football agents by providing the help that agents new and old will now need to adhere to these new regulations and allow themselves to operate within the beautiful game.
To execute this, JVA have collaborated with Professor Vincent English and Longford College to develop a bespoke course that will take you by the hand and give you the vital guidance that you will need to pass the FIFA Agents Exam and secure your license.
So if you would like to hear about the most effective way for you to be completely prepared for the first FIFA Agents exam on April 19th 2023, all you have to do is fill in the form at the bottom of this page to ensure that you are the first in the know when we launch our exclusive Exam Guidance Course 👇
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